Indio is the third valley city to act on the shortage
In light of a judge shortage dubbed a "judicial crisis" in Riverside County, Indio City Council unanimously voted Wednesday to join three desert cities in strongly urging Gov. Jerry Brown and state legislators to take action.
Riverside County has one of the highest caseloads per judge in the state, second only to San Bernardino County, a substandard ratio that has led to significant delays in court proceedings in superior courts such as those in Indio's Larson Justice Center, according to the state Judicial Council.
In 2014, 423,340 filings were made in Riverside County Superior Court including 18,195 felonies and 41,731 misdemeanors — an increase of 18 percent since 1993, according to court data.
That adds up to a caseload of more than 5,570 filings that have to be handled by each of the county's 76 judges, including almost eight jury trials that must be presided over.